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Unless you're a millionaire living in one of those suuuper expensive towns and money just isn't an issue, north jersey is a horrible place to live.
I've lived in South Jersey in Burlington County, the middle of the state on the Bay in South Amboy, and in north jersey in Hoboken, Weehawken, worked in Carlstadt went to school in Hackensack..
Having experienced the whole state, I'm telling you North Jersey is just a horrid place to live. There's always traffic. Stores and parking no matter where you go are so crowded and frustrating. Seriously your costco on a tuesday afternoon is like our costco in south jersey on black Friday.
Everything is on top of each other, it's sooo overpriced.
You need to break free... the Bay area in South Amboy was okay, but south jersey is miles away better all around.
Thanks for the input. As someone who has spent my whole life in Bergen County I love it here. It may be crowded but for the most part people are great, solid schools, and easy access to NYC. TO each his own.
Unless you're a millionaire living in one of those suuuper expensive towns and money just isn't an issue, north jersey is a horrible place to live.
I've lived in South Jersey in Burlington County, the middle of the state on the Bay in South Amboy, and in north jersey in Hoboken, Weehawken, worked in Carlstadt went to school in Hackensack..
Having experienced the whole state, I'm telling you North Jersey is just a horrid place to live. There's always traffic. Stores and parking no matter where you go are so crowded and frustrating. Seriously your costco on a tuesday afternoon is like our costco in south jersey on black Friday.
Everything is on top of each other, it's sooo overpriced.
You need to break free... the Bay area in South Amboy was okay, but south jersey is miles away better all around.
North Jersey is a big area... from Rural to Highly populated Urban. People seem to think the entire state is like Newark, Jersey City etc..
I had a old friend visit me for the first time and he couldn't believe I was living in NJ... he said it was more like living in "Dawson's Creek". I live near farms and stables... lol
There are Parts of New Jersey that are wonderful.. there are parts that are horrible... no different than other states.
I would argue the OP hasn't lived nor experienced the entire state...
I moved to New Jersey from Pennsylvania in the nineties and lived in North Jersey at first.
I noticed right away that towns were set apart with poor people living in some towns and rich people living in others. (Now this was my impression, maybe not yours.)
As a young person at the time, I could live in a super expensive little tiny apartment on the edge of say, (Well, I won't say, but you can fill in the blank). And people on the street didn't talk to me.
Or I could live in a nice place in a poor town. People were very friendly but as a young professional, I missed talking to professionals
I realized it was based on the school system, and people are super interested in not having anyone in their schools whose parents don't share their professional values. And I know if all the kids have parents who don't have professional values, you get a failed high school.
But. Where I grew up in small town PA we had high income and low income people in the same town. (Also, we had kids from all walks attending the same high school).
We had kids whose parents were on public assistance, and we had kids whose parents were the town's doctors, and the wealthy local business owners. Kids did fine. Some in my class went to ivy league and became doctors, politicians and lawyers, some became ne'r-do-wells.
In the town, the big beautiful Victorian homes were on the end of the block, and in the middle of the block were the little bungalows. Outside town, some kids lived on beautiful farms, and some in trailers.
Now, you might see that as a bug, not a feature. (i.e. it doesn't sound good to you.) But it does work.
I moved to mid Jersey, and the town I found is much like the one I grew up in. On the end of my block are beautiful Victorians for professionals and business owners, in the middle are retirees and former factory workers, and everything in between. The block is so friendly, everyone talks to each other and invites each other to parties, the school is mid ranked, but I think has much to offer, with everything kids need (i.e. kids get excellent SAT scores, and it offers all the advanced placement courses.) Kids walk by my house, they looked relaxed and happy and they are so friendly! But, you might say--the schools aren't top ranked!
Some parents own businesses and are entrepreneurs, something you miss in a rich northern NJ town. (i.e., in high school, kids might talk to people who became wealthy not by attending Ivy League schools, but by opening a business). In other words, kids meet all kinds.
If I remember my high school experience, it was meeting all kinds of people that I really liked. I think meeting all kinds of people is good for kids, but again, my opinion only.
So, to each their own.
I don't know if anyone will read this long post. Bottom line, it's easier to meet all kinds of people if you live in small town PA or mid NJ but not in a super rich or poor town in NJ (unless you are actively meeting people outside your own town).
I moved to New Jersey from Pennsylvania in the nineties and lived in North Jersey at first.
I noticed right away that towns were set apart with poor people living in some towns and rich people living in others. (Now this was my impression, maybe not yours.)
As a young person at the time, I could live in a super expensive little tiny apartment on the edge of say, (Well, I won't say, but you can fill in the blank). And people on the street didn't talk to me.
Or I could live in a nice place in a poor town. People were very friendly but as a young professional, I missed talking to professionals
I realized it was based on the school system, and people are super interested in not having anyone in their schools whose parents don't share their professional values. And I know if all the kids have parents who don't have professional values, you get a failed high school.
But. Where I grew up in small town PA we had high income and low income people in the same town. (Also, we had kids from all walks attending the same high school).
We had kids whose parents were on public assistance, and we had kids whose parents were the town's doctors, and the wealthy local business owners. Kids did fine. Some in my class went to ivy league and became doctors, politicians and lawyers, some became ne'r-do-wells.
There's a lot of towns in Northern NJ where there's people who have a wide range of income. They usually live in opposite sides of town. Englewood, Teaneck, West Orange, Maplewood, and Clifton come to mind.
But yea, it's tough narrowing down the best choice to live if you have a modest budget. Right now I'm trying to decide if it's best for me to have a nice house in a working class town with average schools or a not so nice house in a more affluent town with highly rated schools. I really don't know which would make me and my family happier but I guess I'll have to figure it out.
There's a lot of towns in Northern NJ where there's people who have a wide range of income. They usually live in opposite sides of town. Englewood, Teaneck, West Orange, Maplewood, and Clifton come to mind.
But yea, it's tough narrowing down the best choice to live if you have a modest budget. Right now I'm trying to decide if it's best for me to have a nice house in a working class town with average schools or a not so nice house in a more affluent town with highly rated schools. I really don't know which would make me and my family happier but I guess I'll have to figure it out.
not so nice house in affluent town
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